Promise Not to Break My Little Heart or Leave Me All Alone

“Oh, you wanna get some henna?” he asked casually as we finished eating our ice creams.

“Fake tattoos?” I asked

“Yeah, they do it somewhere around here” he said

“Do-does it hurt?” I inquired

He smiled “Why? Are you scared of needles?” he teased

“Am not! Just a little” I felt my voice getting softer with each word

“Don’t worry, you’ll manage” he said as he stood up and grabbed me toward the exit of the store

“Are you really bringing me to get a tattoo?” I asked a little freaked out

“Yeah sure. It’ll be fun and it’s a great experience” he answered as we walked into a little store.

I am really nervous and freaked out. Why the hell did I agree to do this? I felt a pang of fear when I saw the sharp needles.

“Are you Ok?” Ryan asked while waving his hand in front of my face

“I don’t know” I gulped

“Come on Tasha, it’ll be fun. Don’t be scared, I am here anyway.” He cracked a smile.

Somehow, when I saw his smile, all the fear I felt just moments ago disappeared. I felt safe with him.

“I am so frightened” I admitted

“Don’t worry! I’ll go first, or you want to do it first?” he asked

“No, I think I need to go first. If I see how they do it to you, I might run out of here the second they start using those needles” I said my voice shaking a bit.

He chuckled “Okay then. What design do you want? And, they are not using those needles on you. Henna isn’t put like that”

“What do you mean?’ I ask

“Just wait, you’ll see.” He gave me a little book and I saw so many pictures on it. I couldn’t choose

“You can also request your own design if you want” The person in the store suggested

I look up and thought of it. What design can I get?

An idea popped in my head. I grabbed my camera and looked for the right picture.

“Can I have a tattoo design like this?” I asked the person, showing her the picture of the sand castle Ryan built me.

“Yeah. I can do that” he said while looking at the picture.

“I’ll just have to print it out of the camera first” she added

“Yeah okay” I said and smiled widely.

That’s what I want. I want the sand castle.

“What are you getting?” Ryan asked, obviously curious

“Here” I showed him the picture

“You’re having the sand castle I gave you?” he asked happily

“Yeahp”

“That’s nice. I am touched that you would want that on your skin” he whispered to me.

“It’s really nice” I told him and gave him a smile

“Where are you gonna put it?” he asked

“Hmm, what about here?” I ask, pointing to my right wrist. “It’ll be kinda small anyway”

“That’ll look totally cute there” he smirked

“I’ll ask them to put it there then” I say, knowing that he liked that idea

“That’s gonna be cool” he complimented

“So, how about you? What are you getting?” I ask him

“Well, I want musical notes around my wrist” he responded

“That’s cool too! But wouldn’t that hurt?”

“Nope. Actually, henna doesn’t really hurt you know. They don’t even use needles”

“They don’t? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I was so freaked out!” I half yelled

“It’s fun to see you scared. Besides, real tattoos aren’t really that painful.” he smirked back at my frowning face

“Really? You’ve already done this?” I ask, forgetting about my rant just seconds ago

“Yeahp.” he bragged

“Yeah right” I roll my eyes at him

“It’s true! I’ll even show you a picture of it!” he shot back

“Okay then, show me sometime” I say, still not believing him

“Fine. Someday” he made a smug face

“Ready?” The person said, preparing her stuff

I suddenly felt scared again.

Ryan laughed as he watched my reaction

“It’s ok Tasha, I’ll be beside you the whole time” he comforted me

“Don’t you dare leave me Ryan” I stuttered as I sat on the chair

“It’ll be fine. Honestly, you wouldn’t feel anything” he said as he sat beside me

The girl leaned nearer and put alcohol on my skin. Shit. This is it. I can’t go back anymore. I shut my eyes as the girl leaned closer to me. I felt it something touch my skin but it wasn’t a needle or anything sharp at all. I opened my eyes and saw that the girl was applying something on my skin. It didn’t hurt at all. In fact, it tickled.

I glanced at Ryan who was still sitting beside me, giving me an encouraging smile

“I told you it’s not as bad as you think” he mocked

I made a face and smirked at him. Actually, his presence was helping a lot. If he wasn’t there, I bet I would have run screaming straight out of this place.